Sundowns strike gold with perfect Lucas Ribeiro replacement!

Mamelodi Sundowns welcomed several stars in January, with Jayden Adams being arguably their biggest signing.

The 23-year-old has risen to the challenge, scoring two in his opening six games for the Brazilians; however, his off-the-ball skills are catching Miguel Cardoso’s eye the most.

“Sometimes he doesn’t need to run too much, he knows how to play the ball in the right spaces,” said Cardoso, before adding that, “he knows how to cope with different dimensions of the game and settle everyone, so we have a better game.”

Sundowns is littered with world-class talent, from the injured Themba Zwane and Iqraam Rayners to who many are dubbing favourite to win this PSL’s Player of the Season, Lucas Ribeiro Costa.

A few weeks ago, Cardoso hinted at Ribeiro’s possible exit, telling PSL fans to enjoy his talents while they still can.

The 26-year-old has several international suitors monitoring him, and while nothing is confirmed, it wouldn’t be wrong to assume, and with respect to Sundowns, that a bigger club will come calling and Ribeiro will feel it’s right to embark on a new chapter in his career.

But Sundowns fans needn’t worry because they have Adams, who has all the skills to take over Ribeiro’s reins.

Cardoso on Adams

“The role of a coach is to try to find the connections between the players so the whole system works. I believe a coach needs to create an organisation where the best players can express themselves,” Cardoso began saying. 

“It is about knowing who should be where and what to ask from each one so their best appears on the pitch. We have quality players and Jayden is one of them, 

“He is happy with us and that has helped him settle down quickly. Given the way we play, he is able to do the things we want from him. He is capable of doing many things, he is an interesting player in terms of understanding the game and he is very intelligent,

“I have always believed if you play better you win more. If you play in a competition, sometimes you can have a bad game and win, but in a championship you will probably get what you want if you regularly play better,

“Defences win you championships and attackers win you matches. We should also cope and understand that and the better we play we will have the results we desire.” 

 Is Adams Sundowns next best player?

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